Phoenix (12-20) at Portland (14-19)
When: Monday, December 30th, 2019
Where: Moda Center,
Portland, OR
Time: 10:05 ET | TV: NBA TV
Opening Odds: Blazers -5.5/230
Two slumping Western Conference teams take to the court on Monday when the Phoenix Suns visit the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. The race for the final playoff spot in the West is going to be back-and-forth all winter and the Blazers currently own it via a tiebreaker with the San Antonio Spurs. Portland has followed a four-game winning streak with three straight setbacks including a 128-120 home loss to the L.A. Lakers on Saturday. The Blazers would love to get back some momentum before embarking on a five-game road trip out East starting on Wednesday. The Suns are only 1.5 games behind the Blazers in the West and finally got one in the win column with a 112-110 road win in Sacramento. That evened-up their four-game road trip after falling at Golden State 105-96 the night before. This will be the third game in four days for a Phoenix team that had lost eight in a row before Saturday’s victory. The Blazers edged the Suns in Phoenix 111-110 back on Dec. 16 for their 11th win in a row in the series.
Star guard Devin Booker came up big on Saturday, recording 32 points and 10 assists in the victory at Sacramento for his second consecutive 30-point outing, but is a dismal 2-for-24 from beyond the arc in his last six contests. Small forward Kelly Oubre Jr. contributed 20 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in 41 minutes despite playing through a groin injury. Oubre converted 2-of-4 three-pointers after going 1-of-14 over the previous three games. Suns center Deandre Ayton (ankle) sat out the last five games and remains day-to-day. Phoenix will end their road trip at Staples Center on Wednesday against the Lakers.
All-Star point guard Damian Lillard led the way in Saturday’s loss with 31 points and nine assists, but Portland lost power forward Skal Labissiere just three minutes into his first start of the season with a knee injury. The team is already without center Jusuf Nurkic (leg), guard Rodney Hood (Achilles) and forward Zach Collins (shoulder). Small forward Mario Hezonja (back) missed the last four games and is day-to-day. Center Hassan Whiteside pulled down 16 rebounds Saturday after being limited to six in his previous game versus Utah. The Blazers visit New York’s Madison Square Garden on New Year’s Day.
Despite all the injuries, I still like this Portland team to outscore Phoenix at home. It’s been almost three years since the Suns beat the Blazers and this isn’t a lot of points to lay.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for Monday. He is 39-26-2 (60%) on the season!
Pick: Blazers -4
Suns are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 Monday games.
Suns are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games playing on 1 days rest.
Suns are 2-5-1 ATS in their last 8 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Suns are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games as a favorite.
Suns are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games following a ATS win.
Suns are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win.
Trail Blazers are 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
Trail Blazers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up loss.
Trail Blazers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Monday games.
Trail Blazers are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
Trail Blazers are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Trail Blazers are 0-6 ATS in their last 6 games after allowing more than 125 points in their previous game.
Trail Blazers are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
Trail Blazers are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Trail Blazers are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog.
Trail Blazers are 0-3-2 ATS in their last 5 games as a home underdog.
Under is 4-0 in Suns last 4 vs. a team with a losing straight up record.
Over is 4-1 in Suns last 5 overall.
Over is 4-1 in Suns last 5 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
Under is 4-1 in Suns last 5 games following a ATS win.
Over is 4-1 in Suns last 5 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 4-1 in Suns last 5 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Under is 4-0 in Trail Blazers last 4 games after allowing more than 125 points in their previous game.
Over is 6-1 in Trail Blazers last 7 games as a home underdog.
Under is 4-1 in Trail Blazers last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400.
Over is 17-6-1 in Trail Blazers last 24 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
Over is 29-12-1 in Trail Blazers last 42 home games.
Over is 7-3 in Trail Blazers last 10 Monday games.
Over is 9-4 in Trail Blazers last 13 games as an underdog.
Suns are 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings in Portland.
Suns are 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
Over is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in Portland.
